Baby Angelita run over by car driven by teenage mother, detective says

A newborn baby found dead on the side of a Monterey County road was hit by a car driven by his 14-year-old mother, investigators said Thursday, revealing disturbing new details in a case that also involves allegations that the teenager was raped and impregnated by her own father.

Detectives found the baby suffered from crush injuries, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office lead investigator Richard Geng said at a news conference in Salinas. Investigators believe the baby, who authorities named “Baby Angelita,” had been moved several feet from where she was born to a location under the vehicle.

“What happened in this case is nothing short of horrific,” said Scott Schelble, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco office.

The teenager remains in Mexico after authorities rescued her and arrested her father, Sergio Galvez Perez, 38, the sheriff’s office said Sunday. No homicide charges have been filed against anyone in connection with the newborn’s death, Geng said. Authorities have highlighted efforts to extradite Perez but have not announced any plans to seek the teen’s extradition.

The investigation began on Aug. 1, when officers responded to Struve Road, north of Moss Landing, around 8:30 a.m. The child was lying on a dirt shoulder next to a farm field and was pronounced dead at 8:46 a.m.

Forensic evidence several meters away suggests the baby had been moved after birth, Geng said. Witness accounts, videos and automated license plate readers helped detectives identify a beige Mercury sedan registered to Perez and the teen’s mother, Ofelia Garcia Ortega, officials said. Forensic evidence inside the car also supported investigators’ belief that the teen was driving, Geng said.

Witnesses reported seeing the teen get in the driver’s seat shortly before driving off, officials said. Investigators also discovered a video that showed her driving what appeared to be the same vehicle on another occasion. The teen had driven with her mother to work in the fields that morning, according to witness statements, phone records, videos and work time cards.

Her father was in the Bay Area at the time of Baby Angelita’s death, Geng said. Investigators found no clear evidence that he encouraged or otherwise participated in the baby’s death. The evidence also suggests neither parent knew the teen had gone into labor, he said.

About four hours after the baby died, the teen sent messages to her father saying she had given birth and hid the baby because she feared her mother’s reaction, according to Geng.

“Some time ago I couldn’t hold it anymore and the baby came out,” he read in a translation of the messages into Spanish. “I hid it somewhere because my mother was going to see me with it and she was going to kill me.”

The girl’s phone contained months of searches related to hiding or terminating a pregnancy, Geng said. He explained that on the day the baby was found, she researched what would happen if police found a newborn belonging to a minor, and then how to turn off her iPhone’s tracking.

Detectives searched the family’s Salinas home on Aug. 3 and said they found the teen hiding under a pile of clothes in a bedroom closet. Questioned away from her parents, she reportedly said she had had sexual relations with an unidentified boy and received no medical care after giving birth. Detectives took her to the hospital and the next day, investigators said they learned her father had taken her before she was released on medical parole. The two men then disappeared, prompting an Amber Alert and widespread searches.

DNA results received Aug. 19 identified Perez as the biological father of the teen and her baby, Geng said.

Perez faces criminal charges for lewd act on a child under 14, incest and child abuse. He was arrested in Mexico on drug possession charges, and U.S. authorities are seeking his extradition, Schelble said. Mexican child welfare authorities took custody of the teen.

Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested Tuesday on charges of false identity, child endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Investigators say she put her daughter to work at age 13 using falsified documents, allowed her to drive without a license and prevented her from going to school.

Sheriff Tina Nieto defended her department’s investigation Thursday after criticizing its earlier decision to describe the abused teen as a murder suspect. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office later clarified that it had not filed any charges against her.

“It’s important to remember that this is a 14-year-old child who is also the victim of very serious crimes,” Nieto said. “His safety, privacy and well-being have remained a priority and will continue to remain so.”